Types of dementia

Facts about the type of dementia

Examples or further links

Alzheimer’s disease

• This is the most common cause of dementia.

• The majority of people who develop the disease are over the age of 65 but younger people can also develop Alzheimer’s disease.

• Two proteins, amyloid and tau, are involved in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. As the disease progresses, the protein build-up damages more and more brain cells, which affects how our brains work and leads to the symptoms of Alzheimer’s.

• First area of the brain to be affected is the hippocampus, which controls aspects of our memory and navigation.

What is Alzheimer's disease?

Vascular dementia

• This is the second most common cause of dementia.

• Vascular dementia occurs when blood vessels in the brain are damaged, for example through a stroke. This reduces blood flow to brain cells, which affects how they work.

• Vascular dementia can develop in distinct steps after a stroke.

What is vascular dementia?

Dementia with Lewy bodies

• Dementia with Lewy bodies (DBL) is the third most common cause of dementia.

• DLB is caused by small clumps of protein that build up inside nerve cells in the brain. One of these proteins is called alpha-synuclein and the clumps it forms are called Lewy bodies. Lewy bodies damage the nerve cells and affect the way they communicate.

• The nerve cells that are affected by Lewy bodies are in areas of the brain that control thinking, memory and movement.

• This may lead to changes in attention, sleep problems and hallucinations.

What is dementia with Lewy bodies?

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD)

• Frontotemporal dementia (FTD/sometimes called Pick’s disease) is a relatively rare form of dementia.

• FTD is caused by damage to cells in areas of the brain called the frontal and temporal lobes. These areas control our personality, emotions and behaviour, as well our speech and understanding of language.

• In FTD, there is a build-up of proteins in the frontal and temporal lobes. Three proteins involved in FTD are called tau, TDP-43 and FUS.

What is frontotemporal dementia?

Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA)

• Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is a rare form of dementia that usually begins by affecting a person’s vision.

• People often develop PCA at an earlier age than typical Alzheimer's disease, usually between the ages of 50 and 65.

What is Posterior cortical atrophy?

Primary progressive aphasia (PPA)

• Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a condition caused by damage to parts of the brain that control our personality, emotions, language and behaviour.

• In most cases, this damage is caused by frontotemporal dementia.

• Most people who develop PPA will be in their 50s and 60s.

What is Primary progressive aphasia?

Rare forms of dementia

• There are several rarer conditions that can lead to dementia or dementia-like problems.

• Rare forms of dementia include

• Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)

• Corticobasal syndrome (CBS)

• Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP)

• Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD)

• Huntington’s disease

Rare types of dementia